Of Light and Shadows
by lironelle
Summary: Melanie, Nita and Kit's daughter, keeps having dreams about things she can't understand. Trying to find our what it means, Mel finds herself in the middle of an ancient struggle. Behind everything lurks why Mel herself was never offered the Oath... R
1. Dragons and Dreams

**Chapter One: Dreams and Dragons**

Melanie Rodriguez sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She tried to remember the dream that she had been having without success. It was one she had been having for ages and she still couldn't remember it. The only fragment of the dream that lingered was a sense of overwhelming peace and love. Melanie lay in bed for a few more minutes, savoring the feeling.

Then, when she was no longer able to put off facing the day, Melanie climbed out of bed. Her lavender pajamas were slightly wrinkled from a night of tossing and turning. "If only I could remember what that stupid dream was!" she thought angrily to herself. Glancing at her bed-side alarm clock, Melanie realized that she had only twenty minutes to get to school.

"Damn," she said "I would pick the first day of high school to be late!" She started pulling random articles of clothing from her dresser. After throwing many things on the floor, Melanie finally found what she was looking for. She pulled on a slightly worn pair of jeans and a dark purple t-shirt. The shirt was plain; Melanie couldn't stand to have anything written on her clothing. After slipping the clothing over her thin, slightly willowy, frame she grabbed a brush from her dresser and raked it through her dark hair which fell just past her shoulders.

Melanie wasn't at all bad looking. She was small boned and not at all bad looking for a fourteen year old girl. She had permanently tanned skin, courtesy of her father, Kit's, Mexican heritage. Her dark hair was from both her mother, Nita, and her father. In addition, she had a full mouth and dark, intense, chocolate brown eyes. Her dark brows were slightly straight with only the slightest possible curve to them.

After that, Melanie dashed out of the room, her unbound hair flying out behind her. She ate a quick breakfast of cereal, grabbed her backpack, and flew out the door with a quick "bye!" to her mother. After running all the way to her bus stop, Melanie arrived there panting just as the bus pulled up.

When Melanie got on the bus she was pleased to see that her best friend since third grade, Lauren Davis, was saving her a seat. Lauren was a thin, blond girl with bright blue eyes that naturally smiled, a thin face, and pale skin.

"Way to make the first day exciting, Mel," Lauren said as Melanie seated herself beside her.

Mel rolled her eyes. "So where do we get our schedules?" she asked.

Lauren sat up straightened, forgetting about Melanie being late immediately. "Well we go to the auditorium first," she said. "And then they pair us with an older student, you know, to show us around and be our buddy and all that. They have schedules similar to us so the show us where all our classes are." Lauren made a face. "That building is huge!"

Melanie nodded. "Yeah," she said. Her friend was great at remembering things, no matter how obscure the fact. "Do we get to eat lunch with each other though?" she asked. She already knew the answer, but Lauren would probably know more than she did.

"Yes, so long as our mentors agree and it's near where they're eating." Lauren said. "What did you bring for lunch, by the way?"

Melanie hit her forehead with her fist. "I forgot it," she said.

Lauren made a sympathetic face. "You can share some of mine," she said.

Melanie nodded, even though she knew she wouldn't share the lunch. She could just leech off her best friend like that.

At last, the bus pulled up in front of the school. "How long do we have the buddies for?" asked Melanie.

"You're expected to stay with them for a week," Lauren said. "But they're expected to stay your 'special buddy' all year." She made a face. "Sure makes you hope you get someone good," she said.

Melanie nodded. She felt her gut clench with nervousness. It would be really bad luck if her mentor hated her. She wondered who it would be.

Lauren began to fidget; they had stepped off the bus and were entering the building. Following the signs and the growing crowds of other new freshmen, Melanie and Lauren made their way into the auditorium. There was a section in the middle reserved for the freshmen. The smaller sections on the left and right were filled with who Melanie presumed were the mentors. Lauren and Melanie went to sit somewhere in the section. When everyone was seated, the principle made his was laborious was onto the stage. He was a fat, balding man whose mouth automatically frowned.

Melanie zoned out almost as soon as he started his speech. Lauren had told her all about the mentor/buddy program on the bus and the rest of it was about rules. Every school she had ever been to had had the same rules. And what really mattered were the rules the teachers told you in class anyways. Her mind slid to the dream she had had the night before. It had been so peaceful…

Melanie was just on the verge of recalling something of it when Lauren nudged her. "They're starting to pair people up," she whispered.

Melanie started paying attention. They were doing it in alphabetical order. Soon Laurens name came up. Melanie watcher her friend walking towards the front of the room. Her friend was shaking slightly but Melanie was sure that no one noticed how nervous her friend was. Melanie would have to congratulate her later.

Melanie listened while the names of other students were called out. Some of them she knew from last year, others she didn't recognize. They came from other middle schools.

Then, Melanie's name was called. She put on a blank expression and walked towards the front of the room. Her black hair swished slightly from side to side as she walked. She was doing her best to look cool, calm, and collected. All in all, she thought she did a pretty good job.

Waiting for her at the front of the room was a tall boy with dark brown hair and black eyes. He was dressed casually and he, like her, had a blank expression. He held a folder that Melanie guessed contained her schedule, information about the school, and health papers.

Melanie nodded slightly to acknowledge him. He returned the gesture and motioned for her to follow him from the auditorium.

Once they were clear of the room, he showed Melanie into an empty classroom.

"Aren't I going to class?" she asked.

The boy raised his eyebrows. "Weren't you listening?" he asked.

Melanie rolled her eyes. "No," she said honestly. "They say the same things every year."

The boy smirked. "I'm supposed to talk to you about the school and how things work here to make sure you understand. Think you can listen?"

Melanie felt anger flare momentarily inside her. She repressed it coolly. She wouldn't gain anything by shouting, that was for sure. "I doubt it," she said. "I already know all the rules. They schools never change them."

Still smirking, the boy offered his hand. "I'm Drake," he said. "Sophomore."

"Melanie Rodriguez," Melanie said she took his hand, shook it, then let go.

"Oh?" asked Drake. "Did your parents go to school here?"

Melanie shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose so. They both grew up in the area."

Drake nodded. "My family's been here for a while too," he said and left it at that.

Melanie nodded.

"So." He said. "I'm supposed to talk to you about career pathways. What do you think you want to be? What are you interested in?"

Melanie considered the question. "I like art," she said finally. "Especially sculpture."

Drake nodded. He was writing it down on a pad of paper. "Go on," he said.

Melanie decided to be honest about this, just for the heck of it. Normally, it was against her nature to reveal too much about herself for fear of people using the information against her. But she couldn't see anything threatening about this situation. In fact, it would probably be beneficial; the councilors would be able to advise her better on which career path to take.

"I like music," she said. "Particularly the kind that means something."

Drake looked at her questioningly.

"I actually listen to the words in songs," she said. "Most people don't notice what the artists are actually saying but I do. I also like arguing diplomatically. I do it with my parents all the time."

Drake stifled a laugh. "I know everyone argues with their parents," he said "but I've never heard of anyone doing it diplomatically."

Melanie shrugged. "Most kids just get angry at their parents and shout and everyone leaves mad," she explained. "But doing it diplomatically I usually get my way."

Drake made a note. He started smirking again. "So you like manipulating your parents? How… immoral."

Melanie scowled. "It's not manipulating," she said. "Believe me, that wouldn't work on my parents. They're pretty used to it. They get manipulated a lot in their line of work." Melanie clamped her mouth shut. She had said too much. Her parents hadn't tried to hide the fact that they were wizards from her and her brother and sister. Her older brother was a wizard now too. Melanie herself wasn't a wizard yet and the fact had been bothering her. Didn't the Powers think she was worthy of the oath? But her mother said that there had been many late-starter wizards and that she shouldn't worry. But even though she wasn't a wizard yet herself, Melanie knew about how the Lone Power tried to manipulate wizards into working for It. She shuddered at the thought; she wanted to do good for the world and finding that she was making things worse instead would be horrible.

"Oh, what are your parents' jobs?" Drake asked.

"My mother is a librarian," Melanie said. She skipped the 'but that's just on the side, she's a wizard normally' part. "And my father's a newspaper journalist."

Drake nodded. "Oh, very bookish people. They must get manipulated a lot in those lines of work," he was mocking her, she knew, but she decided to just ignore it.

Melanie smiled. "That's definitely true."

"So do you think you'll have a 'bookish' job when you grow up?"

Melanie considered. "I don't think so," she said finally. "I like books and reading and all that, but I don't think that that's the only thing in life."

"So what would you want to be?"

Melanie considered again. This time, it took her a little longer to answer. "I don't know," she said. "I've tried taking those career quizzes before and they always come up with the answer 'teacher' or 'artist' or something. But I don't think any of those would be enough if you know what I mean."

Drake considered for a moment. "Yes," he said. "I suppose I do know. You want to do something big and important, right?"

Melanie made a face and nodded. "I suppose so, yes," she said. She didn't like admitting that she craved glory but it was the truth. Her parents had always told her to tell the truth because otherwise entropy, the Lone Power's prime weapon, would strengthen and the destruction of the Universe would quicken. That was something Melanie definitely didn't want.

"Impressive," Drake said. "Any idea what that would be?"

"Why are you so interested?" Melanie thought. She supposed this was just a job for him but all the same… "No," Melanie said. "But whatever it is it will be unique."

Drake's face changed for a second but he rigidly snapped it back. "Well, I think that's it," he said. He checked his watch. "We've got ten minutes left. Is there anything you want to discuss? Any questions?"

"No," Melanie said. She had the sense that she'd let something important slip and it made her uncomfortable. "I'd like to see my schedule though."

Drake took out the schedule and handed it to her. Then he took out his own and studied it, apparently for the first time. Melanie looked down at her own schedule. She was taking an extra hour of classes than the six required.

**Hour Class Teacher Room**

1 ------------------Geometry 1-2 AC --------Smith ------------------ 111

2 --------------------Gym --------------------White ------------------ 421

3 -----------------Ancient Civ. ---------------Drago ------------------ 501

4 -------------------Latin -------------------McMillan ---------------- 141

------------------------------------LUNCH------------------------------------------

5------------------- Art---------------------- Crow ------------------- 291

6 ----------------English 9 -------------------Wright ------------------ 522

7---------------Biology AC----------------- Flowers ----------------- 193

After examining it, Melanie laughed.

Drake looked up from his schedule. "What?"

"Flowers teaches biology?" she asked.

Drake smiled thinly, realizing what she had been laughing at. "Let me see yours," he said. He pulled it towards him without waiting for a reply. "We have art together," he said.

Melanie started in surprise. She hadn't expected to have any classes with her mentor.

"They mix the grades around in the electives," Drake explained.

"Oh," said Melanie. She would have to actually read the information… next time. Then she wouldn't look like an idiot.

"Its time to go to class," Drake said, handing her schedule back to her. He led her out of the classroom and into a hallway thronging with other students. Melanie followed him through a twisting maze of halls. Then, after what seemed like ages, he stopped in front of room one eleven. "Here you are," he said when they had reached it. "My class is just across the hall." He gestured at a room opposite the one they were in front of. Then he departed without another word.

After her morning classes, Drake picked her up from Latin and asked "so where do you want to eat lunch?" he asked.

"I was hoping I could go and meet my friend Lauren," Melanie said.

"Do you have any idea where she would be?" asked Drake. He had an eyebrow raised as though he already knew the answer.

"No," Melanie realized. So much for that. "We didn't have our schedules this morning and we don't know enough about the building to set up a meeting place."

"Then how do you propose to find her?"

Melanie shrugged and kept her face blank in spite of her extremely annoyed interior. "I suppose I won't," she said coldly. "I don't really care where we eat."

Drake shrugged. "I usually eat out behind the back field," he said. "It's relatively nice there and it's usually not that crowded."

Melanie shrugged. "I suppose that that'd be okay," she said. But in one of the halls, Melanie ran into Lauren. Literally.

"Ohff," said Lauren.

"Sorry," said Melanie. She bent down to help her friend pick up the things she had dropped.

"Oh Hi Mel," Lauren said. She smiled warmly in spite of the situation. Lauren picked herself up off the floor and gestured to a girl that Melanie knew. "Look, I got your cousin for a mentor," she said brightly.

"Hi Karen," Melanie said. Karen was the second of six children that her Aunt Carmella and her Uncle Ronan had had. Karen was also a Wizard like her eighteen year old sister Gwen. Their thirteen year old brother, Jason, had also recently taken the oath. That was another thing that made Melanie uncomfortable; Jason, a kid younger than she was, was already a wizard. Their other children included four-year-old Sonal and one year old Merlin.

"Hey Mel," said Karen. "How's your first day coming?"

"Oh pretty good," said Melanie. "My Geometry teacher's a bore but you can't have everything you want. Oh and this is my mentor, Drake."

Drake coolly shook Karen's hand. "You're a sophomore?" Karen asked.

Drake nodded coolly.

"Junior," Karen said. "So you guys want to eat together?"

"We were just going to eat outside, right?" Melanie asked and Drake nodded. Melanie noticed how he was distancing himself from her friends. Well, too bad for him. She nearly smirked.

Drake nodded.

"Sounds great," Karen said. "Want to lead the way?" she asked Drake.

He nodded again and set off with the three of them following and discussing their schedules.

When they had arrived at the lunch place, the topic had changed.

"My mother is in Florida on Vacation with my Dad," Lauren said. "Some sort of no-kids work vacation. Sucks, huh?"

Karen made a sympathetic noise. "My Dad's gone on business too," she said. She glanced at Melanie who understood at once what she meant. It was the universal family term that meant a person was out doing the One's business.

"Urgent?" Melanie asked lightly.

Karen's brow furrowed. "I don't know," she said. "I wasn't authorized to know what exactly he was doing."

"It's probably urgent then," Melanie said. "My Mom and Dad would probably know what it is though." When they had turned thirty, Nita and Kit had been promoted to senior level when the old seniors, Tom and Carl, had been promoted even higher. It still irked her Uncle Ronan that they could find out just about everything he was up to without asking.

Karen smirked. "That'll make him so happy," she said. More seriously she added. "But they sill won't be authorized to tell me what he's doing."

Melanie patted her shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be fine," she said.

Karen smiled. "And if he isn't Mum will go running all over the universe with her hair curler."

Melanie laughed. Trust Karen to be funny even when things got bad.

Laura and Drake were both staring at them with confused expressions. "Um could you back up and explain all that again?" asked Lauren.

Karen and Melanie looked at each other then burst out laughing.

After lunch, Melanie said goodbye to her cousin and friend promising to call them both later. Then she and Drake went to art. Melanie didn't pay attention much; it was all ice-breakers that day. Nothing at all interesting. Apparently Drake thought so too; he spent the whole period doodling.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Melanie didn't learn much of anything. She liked her English teacher, Mr. Wright, because of his funny manner and her Biology teacher, because she seemed knowledgeable and well read. But at the end of the day, Melanie was more than ready to get home. She was worn out by the day's new experiences. Saying good bye to Drake (he only nodded in return) she set off for home. She had decided to skip the late bus and just walk. It would probably being longer, but at least she wouldn't have to deal with the frustration of going miles out of the way. Plus she needed some time to mull over the day's events.

She had been lucky, she thought. Although not all of her teachers were interesting, she knew that they at least knew their subjects. That was an improvement from last year, at least. No what was really bugging her was her mentor's cold manner. What was with him? Maybe he had brain damage and just didn't want to show it. Melanie nearly laughed out loud. But seriously… Melanie herself knew how to act cold and emotionless but on the inside she was always bright and vibrant. Drake acted as though he was cold both inside and out. "But then again," Melanie thought, "perhaps he's just pretending, like me." That seemed likely. Melanie let her thoughts slide away from her buddy and back to that dream she had had the night before. Melanie started humming a song. She supposed she had heard it in the dream. The tune was pretty, although she had never heard it before. Or had she? Melanie thought. Later that evening, she wouldn't remember the song or the thought at all.

a/n: So what do you think? I know that there aren't many original characters in there yet but I promise more next chapter… I just had to establish Melanie. Next chapter up soon so please read, review, and keep checking back! Thanks. Oh and this does have a plot planned… :)


	2. Disappointment and Hope

**Chapter Two: Disappointment and Hope**

_Melanie looked around her. The entire space around her was filled with blackness. And the blackness concealed things, Melanie was sure about that. She squinted her eyes to try to see past the gloom. She was sure there was something important and precious there if she could only get to it… But then Melanie found herself being dragged away from whatever this strange place was. _

_"No!" Melanie said, struggling to remain stationary. It did no good; she was pulled backwards all the faster. _

_"No, don't leave me!" Melanie heard a voice scream. She had to get to it. Something was wrong and no one else had realized what it was…_

_"No!" she said again, struggling harder this time. "Let me go!"_

_Then, she was pulled into a brightness beyond her imagining…_

Melanie opened her eyes and tried to erase the sense of panic that had consumed her mind moments before. She took deep breaths in an effort to calm her rapidly beating pulse. After a few minutes of shaking, Melanie climbed out of bed. Everything was okay. She glanced at her alarm clock, and discovered that she had an hour to get to school. The dream had woken her up early.

It had been a month since she had started High School. The maze of hallways had started to make sense and Melanie had nearly reached the point when she could get to all her classes without getting lost or having to ask directions. The map she had picked up at the office had helped a lot too… once she figured out how to read it.

Today, she selected a new pair of jeans that she had picked out over the weekend. They were stiff so Melanie made a point of moving around in them a lot so they would loosen up. Then, she pulled a blue tank top out of her dresser and pulled it on. She went to her closet and pulled out a dark purple hoodie. She tied it around her waist. She was just about to leave the room when she got the idea of taking a book to school today. She went to her shelf and studied its contents. Lord of the Rings, Knight of the World, The Book of Three, none of her old favorites seemed right for today. She decided to ask Karen for a book.

The Nolen family had moved just around the corner from where Melanie lived when she was in the fifth grade. They had lived in Ireland previously but then Uncle Ronan lost his job. Because there wasn't much choice where he had been living, he made the decision to join his wife's family in New York. Ronan hadn't been happy about the move, but he had seen it was necessary. And as a compromise the Nolan family had kept their Ireland home so they could visit it whenever they wanted.

But the result was that Karen's house was just a short walk from Melanie's house. Melanie resolved to stop there before she went to the bus stop. She would make it if she hurried.

When Melanie entered the kitchen, her mother was busy talking to the sink (which was full of water) about a clog in the Speech. Nita and Kit had made sure that their children knew the Speech fluently. As Carmella testified, knowing the Speech was good even if you weren't a wizard.

"Morning Mom," Melanie said. She stood on tip toe to reach the cabinet where the cereal was kept.

"Morning Mel," Nita said. She finished talking to the sink and water started to glug down the drain. Nita noticed the hurry that Melanie was eating in. "What are you rushing for? I thought that you had forty-five minutes to get to school."

"I do," Melanie said. "But I wanted to stop by and ask Karen to let me borrow a book first."

"Oh, okay," Nita said. She picked up a sponge and started to wipe down the counter. "Melanie, I'd like to talk to you for a minute."

Melanie made a concerned face. "What's happened Mom?" she asked.

"It's… Bethany," she said.

Melanie was confused. Bethany was her twelve-year-old sister. What could possibly be wrong?

Nita took a deep breath. "She's been offered the Oath."

Melanie struggled to suppress her emotions. She felt her head spinning. What did she feel? It was almost hard to tell the emotions were so jumbled. Bethany would make a good wizard, that was for sure. But then why did Melanie feel so many other feelings contending in her head. Hurt. Betrayal. Sadness. Anger. Confusion. She struggled to hide them all and put on a mask of indifference.

"It's okay Mom," she lied, putting a hand on her mother's shoulder. "I'm going to go and borrow that book." Melanie grabbed her lunch and her backpack and left the house at a quick pace. Nita stared doubtfully after her.

Melanie stopped quickly at Karen's house to discover that she was out on business and that she wouldn't be coming to school that day. Melanie felt tears began to build in her eyes. Why had the powers not chosen her? Melanie stopped quickly at Karen's house to discover that she was out on business and that she wouldn't be coming to school that day. Melanie felt tears began to build in her eyes. Why had the powers not chosen her? Was she defective in some way? Melanie decided not to wait for the bus this morning. It was only a fifteen minute walk to school anyways. She started walk but quickly broke into a run. She pounded her emotion into the sidewalk. She was unable to contain her emotion now; tears streamed down her face.

When Melanie was just inside the school yard, she tripped and fell. She got up to examine the damage. Her hands were covered blood from where she had tried to stop herself from falling and her jeans had torn on one knee.

"Damn," Melanie said. She let out a sob that was almost a laugh at the hopelessness of her situation.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Melanie looked up to see Drake coming towards her. She hadn't seen him since her first week of school, weeks and weeks ago. She supposed he liked his solitude although she was slightly offended on his distance.

Melanie wiped her nose. "Nothing," she said vehemently. "Everything's perfect."

Drake his eyebrows. "Which is why your crying, bloody, and swearing on top of it all."

Melanie glared at him. "Why do you care anyways?" she asked.

Drake looked at her condescendingly. "I'm supposed to, remember?"

Melanie glared. "Well, if your reason for caring about people is because you were ordered to then you can save your breath."

Drake sighed and knelt down on the ground beside her. "Can you quit she superiority act?" he asked. "Just tell me what happened."

Melanie's mouth twitched. "Act?" she said. "What act? I thought I was really superior." She took a deep breath that came out half as a sob. "I can't tell you what happened."

"Do you mean you 'may not' tell me or that you genuinely can't tell?"

Melanie scowled again. "Does it matter?"

"Just come with me," Drake said. He led her back to the place in the back of the school where they had eaten lunch on the first day. This time, he led to a bit past that to a place where a picnic table was considered in the woods. "Now I'm asking you as a friend, what's wrong?"

Melanie took a shuddering breath. She could tell him part of the truth. Perhaps that would satisfy him. "My family has a particular tradition," she said. "And for some reason, I'm not um adequate enough to continue it. I don't know why."

"I don't suppose you can give me more of an explanation than that?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

Melanie thought about it. He wouldn't believe her anyways… but no it was wrong. She would be dragging her whole family into this.

"Ah," Drake said.

"Ah, what?" asked Melanie.

"So, your family are wizards," Drake said. Melanie's mouth fell open. "Don't be so surprised. Plenty of non-Wizards know about Wizardry."

"But how did you know?"

"It was the way you thought I wouldn't believe you."

"Oh."

"But tell me," Drake said. "Why do you want to be a Wizard anyway? The Powers only offer it to you if it suits your nature."

"I don't know," Melanie realized. "I suppose part of it is just not wanting to disappoint my parents. But other than that, I'd like to see the world. Other universes and planets I mean. And I want to help everything too."

"That seems within the usual description of a Wizard." Drake murmured. "So what is it about you that rejects it?"

"I know what it is," Melanie said. She had just realized what it was. She remembered the tales her family had told her about fighting the Lone Power and Melanie remembered about how she had thought, during those times, that there must be a better way to get things done other than blasting a bunch of raw power around at people.

"What?"

"I don't think that fighting's the answer." Melanie said. "From what my family's told me about the whole wizard thing, it's mainly a lot of blasting raw power randomly at people and name-calling." Melanie giggled.

Drake snorted. "That's one way of putting it," he said. "Though I've never heard it put quite like that before."

Melanie made an apologetic face. "Um, sorry?"

Drake laughed openly for the first time since she'd met him. "Come on," he said. He put an arm over her shoulder. "We're going to be late for class."

Melanie let him walk her up to the building. Her mind was whirling. She had never really discussed her situation honestly before. She had enjoyed it too. "Can I talk to you later sometime?" she asked.

Drake considered her for a moment. "Sure," he said finally. "You know where to find me."


	3. Thought

**a/n: cookies to all of you, espeshally **imakeladrygirl (your awesome :D thanks for reviewing) for reading! Oh yeah and for those of you who figured out that Drake was an incarnation of the Lone Power, you get extra cookies! Kat :)

**Chapter Three: Thought**

Drake entered His room quietly that night. His human parents had fallen asleep hours ago. Neither of them could keep their eyes open past dusk; not at all like Him.

The Lone Power had decided to be born as a human around sixteen years ago. The Winged Defender had been the one to suggest it. Nearly all the other Powers had human incarnations who helped to influence things in their favor, so why shouldn't He? So far he hadn't gotten this incarnation broken in but He had always planned to wait until it matured to do that. In spite of how long the Powers lived, it was still quite annoying to have to wait for one to mature and to keep it up all that time.

Drake sat down on his bed. No one on this planet knew who he was. Even the local Wizards hadn't realized who he was. Even when he came into contact with them. His thoughts switched to the girl, Melanie. The only non-wizard in a family that had too many, at least in his opinion. But then, one Wizard was too many in his opinion. She clearly hadn't realized what he was either. But that was all in the plan. He didn't want anyone to make a fuss and end up killing this incarnation. Then He would have to start all over again. Ah, the annoyance.

But, back to Melanie, the girl was quite amusing. Of course he wasn't very concerned about her – she was only a human after all. Not even a Wizard. She couldn't do much harm. He thought He had made a good move that day in making himself on friendly terms with the girl. She wasn't a Wizard, so the likely hood of her realizing who He was was slim. She would be an excellent outlet to find information out about the Wizards. Yes He had made a very good move. The girl would confide anything in him now, so long as he could keep his act together. But then another emotion washed over Him. He had spent a lot of time in human forms so He could accurately recognize this one as confusion. But that was crazy. Powers didn't get confused. It must be something to do with the human form. Yes, that was it. The reason for His human confusion was that He was, at the moment, human. But did that mean that he was now subject to other human feelings as well? That wasn't a good thought. It would seriously complicate things. He wondered weather the Defender had known about this when She had suggested that He do this. It would be just like Her.

But, more to the point, he was confused about that kid, Melanie. She thought that the way He thought Wizards was, to put it bluntly, silly. And the thing that struck him was that she was right. A lot of it was childish, to use a human term. He shook his head; apart from being an excellent outlet, she was amusing as well.

Perhaps he should try to get her to see things His way. It might even be tricky enough to be a fun challenge. He liked the sound of that. Sometimes getting chased by Wizards got to be a bit boring.

But at the same time, He wondered why the circumstances had aligned so perfectly. He would definitely have to speak to the Defender about this. He would find out what the One was planning.


	4. Disturbance

**Chapter Four: Disturbance**

When Melanie had gone home that night, she had acted nearly normal. Of course she was still hurt by the fact that she wasn't a Wizard and she knew that she wasn't likely to be offered the Oath. Bethany was still here. No one knew exactly when her ordeal would be.

After dinner, she had gone up-stairs to do her homework. She had studied diligently, not wanting to think of anything else. And then, all of a sudden, she was dreaming.

_Melanie found herself standing alone on a dark grey plain. It was completely empty and silent. Nothing stirred. There was nothing here to stirs. Melanie glanced around herself. She knew that there was something important to be done here though what it was she couldn't guess. What was there here anyway? Melanie sat down in the ground and placed her head in her hands. What should she do? What was there to do? And why in the One's name did she keep returning to this place every night?_

_**Get up and walk**__said a Voice. It seemed to be the place it's self talking. Melanie sat up with a jerk._

_ "Who are you?!" Melanie called desperately. There was something she had to find out. It was necessary. She didn't know how she knew. Maybe she always had. _

_**I have seen everything that has ever happened here, and I cried when the walls were built **__said the Voice. _

_"But who are you?" Melanie wailed. She wondered what the Voice meant. "When the walls were built?"_

_**You knew once. Before. **__ said the Voice. __**But although you no longer know Me I can still point you in the right direction. Go That Way. **_

_Melanie barely had time to contemplate the strangeness of this statement before the whole world reshaped its self. All a once, everything went black and she fell forwards into nothingness… Someone was screaming. She stretched out her arms to reach for them even she couldn't see who it was. She felt herself getting pulled away. She struggled but nothing helped. And then there was the overwhelming brightness…_

Melanie woke up with a start. Someone, her father, was laying her down on her bed. Melanie lay still and pretended to be asleep. For some reason, she always woke up just as the hit the brightness. "There must be a way to make me stay in the dream to find out what I need to," Melanie thought groggily. Then, she had it. Karen. Karen was a wizard. She would be able to design a Wizardry that would let Melanie do what she needed to do. Hadn't her parents told her about something similar that they had done once? Well, that was what she would have to do now.

"Tomorrow," Melanie whispered to herself. She set her alarm clock to ring at five Am "Tomorrow I'll ask her…" and she fell asleep. The dream replayed in her head as she slept.

When the alarm sounded the next morning, Melanie rubbed her eyes and rolled over. She didn't want to wake up. She hadn't slept much. Mostly she had just dozed. With a loud groan, she forced herself to come fully awake. It was a few minutes past five. School wouldn't start for a couple of hours. Melanie dressed quickly and silently to avoid waking her family. She didn't even look at what she put on. She had never told anyone about the dreams. She knew for sure that Karen would have a lot of questions about them and Melanie knew that she would have to answer them honestly. Her first instinct was to keep the dreams a secret but for some reason she also knew that that was no longer possible.

After a few quick brush strokes through her hair, Melanie grabbed her back pack and went down stairs. She grabbed a power bar from a cabinet and silently let herself out of the house. She wanted to speak to Karen alone.

Karen always got up early. No one knew why, it was just part of how her inner clock worked. Or perhaps it was the amount of homework she skipped in the evenings so that she could do her wizardly work. But either way, Karen could always be trusted to rise at four thirty in the morning all year round.

Coming up the Nolen's house, Melanie climbed the tree that was next to Karen's window. Damn. The window was locked and covered by thick curtains. She could see light from the inside though. Melanie snapped off a dead twig from the tree and used it to rap quietly on the glass. After a minute, she rapped again though more insistently. Slowly, the window began to rise. Karen stuck her head out.

Melanie waved to get her attention. Pre-dawn light was just beginning to show. Karen saw her and waved for her to climb down. Melanie did so. She nearly slipped close to the ground. She had forgotten that there was a branch that swayed there. Once on the ground, Melanie dusted herself off and walked over to the front door. After a few seconds, the door opened up a crack and Melanie saw Karen's eye peering through the hole.

"Hey," Melanie whispered.

"What's up Mel?" Karen asked. Melanie could see that she was slightly worried.

"I wanted to ask you something." Melanie said. "Can I come in?"

Karen nodded and pulled the door open so Melanie could come inside. "Quiet," she said, motioning towards the ceiling. Melanie gathered that her parents were still asleep. The Nolen's house was really quite large but then again it had to be to fit all the children. When the family had lived in Ireland, there had only been three children but once they had moved to America, Carmella had had Sonal and then, recently, Merlin. So they had, in short, needed a bigger house. Apart from being a large house, it was rather confusing as well. The last owners had apparently been very big on renovation as well. There were two separate stair cases that led to two different unconnected parts of the upstairs. In addition, the attic could only be reached from the basement. The Nolen's, however, loved their home. It was actually because of its confusing aspect that they had bought it. It suited them.

Karen led Melanie past the living room and down the hall to the stair case that her room was at the top of. It was the stair case that led to the left side of the upstairs. Karen's room was the only room on that side at the moment. Gwen, Karen's older sister, had used to live there too but she had moved out at the beginning of the year and into her college dorm. Melanie thought of her own brother, James, who would be moving out at the end of this year. He had chosen to go to a college that was across the country. Melanie wondered how much she'd miss him.

Karen's room was a jumbled mess of books, paper, and just about anything. There were two book cases absolutely stuffed with books, a bed covered with a patchwork quilt shoved into the corner, and a desk that usually changed places day-to-day. All of this was covered with assorted pieces of junk that Melanie assumed Karen used for her Wizardry. She nearly smiled at the contrast Karen made with her older sister. Gwen had been as neat as a pin. Melanie supposed that Karen took after her mother that way.

Karen shut the door quietly behind her. "What was it you wanted to ask me?" she asked.

Melanie began to explain about the dreams. She told Karen about how she had been having the dream for at least three months and about how clear it was. She didn't know much else.

Karen was unusually serious. She bit her lip slightly and turned away.

Melanie was concerned. She had expected Karen to offer to help and be cheery about the whole thing. She hadn't expected her to actually be worried about the dreams that Melanie was having. It was completely out of character for her and besides, what was there to be concerned about? She just wanted to fine out what it all meant.

At last, Karen turned back to Melanie who was sitting on the bed staring out the window.

"Mel, I know I'm not really supposed to tell you this but we Wizards have been having some trouble lately," Karen said.

Melanie looked at her inquiringly.

"Well it wasn't the Powers that said not to tell, it's our parents," Karen admitted. "They don't want the younger kids worried."

Melanie scowled.

"The younger Wizards haven't been told either," Karen said hastily. "But they'll find out on their own soon. They're just more powerful so they haven't noticed yet."

Melanie's expression softened, though not by much. She didn't enjoy being called a child.

Karen continued. "The thing is, we don't really know what's wrong," Karen said. "It's like our reservoir of magic's run dry. We just can't do many spells anymore." Karen paused. Her brow was furrowed in worry. "Did you know we can't even teleport anymore?"

Melanie bit her lip. "But what does that have to do with my dream?" she asked. She didn't really see the connection.

"I'm not sure," Karen said. "But look at it this way. All the wizards in this universe are crucially low on magic. If problems come up, no matter how dangerous it is, we won't have the energy to deal with it. Then your sister gets offered the ordeal. Did you know that she is the only kid in the universe to get offered her ordeal in over a year? So unknown to her all the wizards in the universe have their eyes on her. Everyone is wondering what her ordeal will be. And in the mean time, you, her older sister, start having dreams about strange places and walls that need to be unbuilt or something like that. So I can't help but wonder, is the reason that Beth was offered her ordeal and not anyone else from all over the universe because she's your sister?"

Melanie was still struggling to process it all when she heard Karen say "because she's your sister." Her mouth fell open. "Are you suggesting that I, the kid who has never shown an once of magical talent, could be the answer to a universe of wizards problems?" Melanie couldn't help feeling incredulous. How could she be? The powers clearly didn't think that she could cope. Melanie had thought that that was obvious.

"Well, isn't it a possibility?" asked Karen.

Melanie made a doubtful face but said "I guess."

Karen raised an eyebrow at the tone Melanie was using, but she said. "Well I think that one of the key things to do right now would be to find out more about those dreams."

Melanie nodded. This at least made sense. "That what I came over here to ask you about," she said.

Karen's eyes flashed with understanding. "Okay," she said. She looked at her calendar. "Tomorrow's Friday." She said, "How about then? You can sleep over."

Melanie considered for a moment, and then nodded. She couldn't remember any plans and there was hardly a need to ask her parents when Karen was a relative. They would wonder why though…

"I'd rather not tell anyone though," Melanie said.

"Okay," Karen said. "It'll take me a while to assemble the proper wizardry though. I can make it so you can just tug a sort of line and then I can pull you back up, that's the simplest way to explain it anyways."

"Okay," said Melanie. She wanted to walk to school this morning since she would have time. She needed the walk to mull things over. There was a lot going on. She wanted to ask her parents why they didn't think that she was mature enough to handle wizardly problems as well. She wouldn't bring it up for a while though. She didn't want to get Karen into trouble.

"Would you like to hang around here till the bus comes or just walk?" Karen asked. "I don't mind having you here."

"No thanks," Melanie said. "I think I'd like to walk."

Karen escorted Melanie to the door. They didn't say much as the rest of the house was still asleep. It was almost foreboding. Melanie took several deep breaths.

"See ya," Karen whispered as Melanie left the house.

Melanie waved behind her. She was glad to be on her own for a while. There was a lot to think about.


	5. The Prospect of a Gathering

**Chapter Five: The Prospect of a Gathering **

The door banged loudly as Melanie entered the kitchen. The day and gone as usually as it possibly could. She had an essay on To Kill a Mockingbird from her English teacher to complete that weekend, but she was sure that she could get through it without much trouble. The real thing that was drawing her mind away from everything else, was the prospect of Karen's help figuring out what her dreams meant. _But what if they don't even mean anything? What if I'm just being silly? _But she knew what her father would say if she confided in him. "Don't be silly, Mel, you know there are no accidents." Well she would just have to go through with it then. She wondered briefly how Karen hoped to produce a wizardry with waning power. But maybe she had a little stored up, or maybe she didn't even need power for this particular wizardry. One thing Melanie knew for sure though; Karen wouldn't have agreed to help her if it was beyond her skill. So she must be able to do it.

"Hello Mel," called her mother from the kitchen.

Melanie followed the sound of her mother's voice and found her mother seated at the kitchen table shelling peas. The sight of her mother doing something so ordinary when, according to Karen, the wizards were in a crisis made Melanie a little annoyed. But she stifled the emotion and smiled at her mother. Genuinely. "Hey Mom," she said, coming over to where her mother was seated and taking a seat next to her.

Nita studied her daughter's face. "Bad day?" she asked. She had noticed the mixture of stress and excitement that Melanie had tried to hide.

Melanie sighed. "No, not really," she said. "I'm just tired." The last part was a lie, but how could she tell her mother the truth when her mother didn't even trust her enough to tell her the real situation the wizards of earth were in? "What about you? You look a bit stressed as well."

Nita sighed. "No, everything's fine," she said.

Melanie fumed a little. How could her mother do this to her? Weren't wizards supposed to tell the truth? Then a thought struck her. Why was her mother lying to her even when it was totally against the oath she had sworn? A chill crept over Melanie's spine. What if the power's had given her mother permission to lie to her for some unknown reason? But no she was just being silly. But the facts remained the same…

Nita noticed the shadow that passed over Melanie's face and she put down the peas she had been shelling. "What's the matter, Mel?"

"Nothing," Mel said. She didn't want to go into the matter with her mother, especially when her mother was intent on keeping the truth of the situation from her. She remembered the Karen had suggested about sleeping over at her house for that weekend. "Hey Mom," she said. "Karen's invited me to sleep over tonight, can I go?"

Nita paused for a moment and for a second, Melanie thought she saw a shadow of worry cover her mother's face. "Sure," she said after a moment. "Only be sure to bring a sleeping bag with you. I doubt your Aunt Carmella could find anything in that house of hers."

Melanie laughed at her mother's joke; Nita had been teasing Carmella about the layout of her house ever since they had purchased it.

"But remember, we're having a family reunion of sorts on Sunday."

Melanie opened her mouth and closed it several times before speaking. "No one told me about that," she squeaked.

Nita laughed at the stunned and slightly horrified expression on her daughter's face. "Don't worry," she said. "You know them all."

Melanie's brow furrowed. "I know a lot of people, Mom," she said. Nita and Kit considered a lot of people who weren't related to them by blood to be their family. Some of them weren't even human, actually…

Nita grinned. "So you and Karen make sure you get enough sleep to be there when the guests arrive. We're hosting it. We have the largest yard."

Melanie smiled. When Nita and Kit had been shopping for a house, they had made sure that they had purchased a house with one of the largest backyards in the city. They thought it was important that their children spend a lot of time in 'the unspoiled outdoors'. As a result, their family also hosted most of the gatherings that their 'family' held.

"I'll make sure to be back on time then," Melanie said. And she meant it. Although family gatherings were large, hectic, occasions, Melanie really enjoyed them. What with Nita and Kit's friends many children, they were always sure to be fun. Smiling, Melanie left the room. Then, she picked up the phone to dial Karen and let her know that she would be over at seven.

(a/n the Chapter wouldn't have been so short if I hadn't wanted to fit another chapter in from the perspective of the adult wizards in the story… I will be posting that in the next couple of days so keep checking back. And then I'll finally finish what happens here. Thanks, please review, Kat :) )


	6. Explanation

**Chapter Six: Explanation**

Nita sat down with a sigh on the sofa next to her husband. Melanie was upstairs, presumably packing for her sleepover with Karen. "When are they going to be here?" she asked Kit.

Kit turned away from the TV which had been showing an alien sports channel. "Any minute now," he said after checking his watch.

Nita shifted anxiously. She didn't really know what to make of what was happening.

"We had better go now," Kit said, standing up. Nita followed suit, an anxious frown on her face.

Kit put an arm around her shoulder and said "it'll be okay."

Nita nodded wordlessly. She would be happier when all this is over.

Nita and Kit walked down the street towards the subway station. As they went, they were joined by Ronan. Carmella had wanted to come as well but Ronan said that that would cause suspicion among the children. Or so he said. Privately, Nita was under the impression that Ronan just wanted to protect her sister in law.

But none of that was on her mind at the present moment. At the moment, she was more concerned about getting where they were going.

The trio went down, speaking little, into the subway. They took the first train that came; they were right on time. And they got out at the first stop. It was a dark section of the city.

_I wonder why they chose this place_ Nita thought as she and the others surfaced onto the street. _Probably because no one, not even He, would suspect that we'd gather in a place like this…_

They entered a small Café at the end of the street. It was dark in there, and the place smelled slightly of mold. Nita wrinkled her nose. The three of them sat down at a small table in the corner and waited. Two men, probably in their fifties, entered the Café and sat down across from them. Tom and Carl. They too sat silently waiting. Half an hour passed. No one talked much; they were all deep in their own thoughts.

Then, a beautiful woman entered the Café.

Nita felt a stir of humor at the sight of her. She stood up. "Hello Peach," she greeted casually.

The woman grinned at her. "Hey there Nita," she said. "You've grown since I was Peach. But then, Humans are always growing in one way or another."

Ronan stiffened.

The Defender (aka Peach everybody) went around and shook hands with them all. "And now," she said. "Down to business."

The group fell into an expectant silence. They had jabbered a bit at the Defender's arrival, but now, they were ready to know why they had been summoned to a moldy Café in the New York City suburbs. All they had been told to do, was to not tell Melanie the truth about what was going on no matter what. They had changed it a little, and just hadn't told all the non-wizards. That would make it easier, if Melanie did somehow find out. But what had been puzzling them, why they 'why' of not to tell Melanie what was happening.

The Defender took a deep breath and started to explain the truth about Nita and Kit's daughter…


	7. Dreamquake

**Chapter Seven: Dreamquake**

"So Karen," Melanie said, "if all of your power is draining away, then how do you think we can design this dream?"

"I'm only going to be designing the structure of it all," Karen explained. "Even if something's warping the Wizardry in this part of the Galaxy, the Speech is still the same."

Melanie was quiet for the next few minutes while her cousin flipped through the pages of her manual. Something weird was going on, she was certain of that. But she felt as though she was missing something important, something crucial. It felt like it was dangling just beyond reach…

"Okay," Karen said. "This should be pretty straight-forward. "I'm going to put you to sleep – by suggesting it to your mind – and give your mind a simple set of instructions that should point it towards the source of your dream. Now, there is a big choice you have to make here. I could instruct your brain to make you finish the dream before you wake up – otherwise it might just wake you up at the point where it usually does. And that's fine, except that we really don't have any idea how far this goes on. And the longer your mind is unconscious, the harder it will be for you to wake…" she trailed off.

"What is it Karen?" asked Melanie, sensing from experience that her cousin was holding something back.

"Well, when I say that it could be hard for you to wake up; I mean that we might have to go in after you to make you wake up."

Melanie whistled. Wizards didn't interfere with another's mind unless there was no alternative. "But there have to be benefits, otherwise you wouldn't have suggested it," she pointed out.

"It may be the only way to ensure that you find out what this is all really about. It's clear to me from what you said before about when you wake up in a dream, that the dream is – sorry – making it hard for you to get to its end. Even after suggesting it, it may not let you see its finish…"

Melanie bit her lip. She wasn't really scared of being caught in the dream. The consequences didn't seem too bad… except that her parents would ask her what was going on and she definitely didn't want that.

"If I don't wake up for a while, can you cover for me?" but she knew it was a terrible question. Asking her cousin to lie would make the Universe die faster, and her cousin was a Wizard… so she wasn't surprised to see her cousin looking uneasy.

"If you decide to do this," Karen said, but Melanie cut her off.

"I want to see the dream to its end," she said.

Karen took a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "Then in that case, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. You might want to get dressed for bed and stuff. I'll get this ready."

Melanie grabbed her bag and walked the short distance to the Bathroom. There, she quickly brushed her teeth and pulled on her white jammie pants and nightgown. She ran her brush through her hair a couple of times. Then she stared at herself hard, attempting to psych herself up. It didn't work. Contrary to what she had said the Karen, she was absolutely scared to death.

Taking a deep breath, she left the bathroom after gathering up her cloths and went back into Karen's room. Her face was blank, not showing any fear.

Karen looked up from the chain of glowing Speech letters she was checking. "Nearly finished," she said. "I've included lucidity in this, so you should be able to think normally."

"Thanks," Melanie said mechanically.

"That's fine," Karen said. "Listen, if you aren't – don't bite my head off – awake in three days then I'm coming in after you whether you like it or not."

Melanie nodded, alarmed that her cousin thought it might take that long – or that it was even possible. Then she remembered comas and how long people had been known to stay in those and felt slightly sick. She reminded herself that that wasn't going to happen and asked, "What do I have to do?"

"You lie down and make yourself comfortable," Karen said. Then she paused until Melanie had finished doing this. "Okay, now, you ready?"

Melanie nodded.

Karen slowly and carefully laid the Speech characters in a circle on Melanie's forehead. Melanie felt herself become drowsy and then everything went black.

_Melanie was alone in that grayish landscape she had been coming to know so well. She listened hard, readying herself to hear that voice. The one that had spoken to her last time._

_**Hello again Melanie, so, you're back to discover what you want to know?**_

_"Yes," Melanie said. _

_**Then Follow me.**_


	8. Questions

**Chapter Eight: Questions**

_Melanie followed the voice. She wasn't sure how she knew which direction it wanted her to go in, she just did. The Voice didn't say anything and Melanie didn't either. Time just seemed to stop, or maybe there just wasn't any time here. She couldn't tell. She just kept moving. _

_A child ran out of the darkness. He looked around seven years old. Other than that, she couldn't tell. His features weren't defined, it was as though Melanie was as seeing him from a great distance even though he was right in front of her. _

_"Who is he?" she asked the Voice. _

_**Watch.**_

_Melanie watched. As she watched, another figure followed him. Melanie could see that she was laughing, but that was all she could tell. Then, for the first time, she heard one of the dream-figures speak. _

_"Come back!" she shouted. _

_He laughed at her. "Catch me!"_

_She ran towards him, fast as lightning. He was just as fast. Melanie could only watch, following their circular progress with her eyes. She was too slow to even try to follow, she thought. _

_**You aren't physical here. If you want to follow, you can.**_

_Melanie followed. It felt like she was flying, and she almost lost herself in the exhilaration of the experience. It felt purely beautiful to be following the two laughing children at the speed of light. _

_But suddenly their progress slowed, they were approaching a structure that Melanie couldn't quite take in. It seemed to be made of many dimensions at once so that Melanie couldn't quite grasp it. She decided to just let it go though and follow the children. _

_At that moment, a woman came out of the building. And her features, although blurred like the rest of them, were the most beautiful that Melanie had ever seen. The boy ran over to her, wrapped his arms around her waist._

_"Mother!" he said. He turned back to the girl. "I won! I got here first!"_

_"Bet you're too scared to let go of her," the girl taunted back. "I wouldn't hang onto my mother like that! I wouldn't be scared of _you._" She stuck her tongue out in return, then stuck her fingers into her ears and wiggled them. _

_"You two!" the woman said, laughing. She led them into the structure that Melanie could only assume was a house. _

_**It's time to go now, Melanie.**_

_"But why?!" Melanie said in alarm. This wasn't the end of this story, she knew. _

_**But you have seen enough of the story for now. Come and walk with me. **_

_"That's hard to do, seeing as your not really here." Melanie muttered. _

_The voice ignored her comment and the next thing Melanie knew, a figure was taking shape out of the very place it's self. It wasn't that it was approaching, like the woman and the two children. It was as though it was condensing out of its very substance. _

_When the processes was finished, Melanie was looking at an elderly gentleman. He looked kindly. __**So is that better?**__ His voice wasn't spoken, like hers was. It was sensed. Like the feel of him touching her, guiding her. _

_Melanie bit her lip in embarrassment and chose comment. She knew the man could see that she was sorry for her cheek. "Why am I being shown this?" she asked instead. _

_**There are many things in the world that Wizards don't know about,**__ said the Man. __**And many that they would be unprepared to handle. What you are being shown here was a mistake. A Bond. A Problem. Something that needs to be repaired. **_

_Melanie stomped her foot, more out of desperation than anything else. "Can you tell me any more than that?!" she asked. _

_**Later. You have experiences to feel before you are shown the next chapter of this tragedy. But Melanie, there are things that have been concealed from Wizards since the Beginning of Time. Things that have been concealed from everyone. From the Powers, even. But we will talk of that later. For now, you must return to your world in time for no one to miss you. We will talk again soon. **_

When Melanie awoke, it was Dawn.


	9. Contemplations

**Chapter Nine: Contemplations**

Drake awoke with a pounding headache. But that was absurd – the Powers that Be did not get headaches!

But he had one that much was obvious.

Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed and walked down stairs to get an aspirin – maybe that would help with this silly human problem. It wasn't as though he could fix it with his powers as he normally would.

Drake sat down at the kitchen table, put his head in his hands. This wasn't going well. For some reason, the power that he had, like the Wizard's power, was vanishing. And what was more, he couldn't tell why!

And contrary to what he supposed was popular opinion, he wasn't the cause of the power level changes in the area. So what could be?

Something had to be done about it, and soon.

But first he had to figure out what the Wizards were doing, what they had discovered about the problem. Odds were, they didn't know much more than he did. But Wizards had done things that were against the odds before, that was certain…

It was time to put a use to his 'friend' Melanie.

a/n: I know it was short but you agree it was necessary, right? puppy dog eyes


End file.
